Yesterday was sunday. I woke up early for Subuh praying time. I spoke to God and thank to God for the joy and health. Then I helped mom in the kitchen and prepared our breakfast, though my brothers and sister would not eat their breakfast too early on sunday, yeah they prefered to be on bed for two or three hours after Subuh than wake up just to eat. And maybe just me who would eat my breakfast first due to stomach-acid problem. I heard Mom's mobile is ringing and she spoke to someone after minutes then. I heard mom talked with less volume when I sat near her, she walked away four or five meters away from me. Thence I doubted with whom she had talk and what are they talked about. Hence, I prefered to put something near her (actually to listen what she talked carefully).
"Oh.. I don't surely know about it, sorry..."
"Yea, because she never tell anything to me"
....
"Oh she is twenty-five right now, or will be twenty-six..."
"Oh Tyas is twenty-five too, but my daughter is three months elder than her."
"Oh No, I never asking serious thing to her, but yes, sometimes she asked permit to go out with her friend, but no specific person. I mean she always went out with different person, so I can't make sure about it."
Wa wa wait! Mom looked like talk about me! Oh.. I smelled something bad here. It might a......
"Where's he come from?"
"Oh yes, that's good for him so"
"He-he.. yea, insyaallah we never know about future"
"Sorry but you should phone me on home because my mobile was error sometimes"
"Okay.. okay, yeah welcome.. thanks, okay see you"
Then "click".
Mom put her mobile off on the table. I stared at her and asked
"Who's phone you?"
"Oh, that's from Aunt Yulie"
"Aunt Yulie? Why suddenly she phones you at early morning like this?"
"Nothing..."
"Mom, come on..."
"She just asking me something"
"About me?"
"Umm, yes"
"And Tyas?"
"Yes, too"
"Oh No! Why elders always want to do an arranged marriage for young people? Don't they know in what era they live now?"
"Just let her...it's impossible for me to refuse her too, right?"
"Okay...due to honor because she is our family, that's right, but mom...We have right to choose our own decision too, with whom we will marry and bla bla bla"
"Yes, mom knows it"
"Please, you should not do the same thing like Aunt Yulie or Aunt Yanti or Aunt Ut or Uncle Tono or whoever who want to interfere other people life"
"No! I wont!"
"Good, please mom...it's enough for me with Grandpa Harso idea that want me to marry his grandchild. Enough!"
"Mom don't have mind to find you a husband too, you can do it by yourself. You and Tyas are modern women, and this is modern era"
Oh my Lord Alloh, what are they thought about? Find husband for me and Tyas by arranged marriage? I didn't want to know whether the guys approved it or not. I didn't know whether the custom was still valid or no as in other regions or countries, but oh-my-to-the-Lord, in our Javanese tradition, there are still ancient ways like that to arranged marriage for man or woman (and it could do by not only their parents but also the elders like uncle and aunt in whole family). Even I never approved this so-old-way but I still gave high respect to the matchmaker (which is as an elders in our family like uncle/aunt/grandparents), not because we "want" or "wish" to do that thing. Well, for honest, I always failed to understand why people like to interfere other's business, especially their own life. Are they did not realize, that every young person has their right to determine their own feelings matter? Luckily, my mother was not a typical elders like them were interfere other's children. Fiuuuh~
-BR-